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The Department of Justice is warning states like Texas that policies meant to block transgender children from receiving gender-affirming care violate their constitutional rights. “Intentionally erecting discriminatory barriers to prevent individuals from receiving gender-affirming care implicates a number of federal legal guarantees,” DOJ officials wrote in a letter sent Thursday to state attorney generals. The letter comes after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton authored a nonbinding legal opinion that some gender-affirming care may constitute child abuse and Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state’s child welfare agency to investigate parents who get such care for their children. (Wermund, 4/1)

Farmers in five Missouri counties are now free to use an herbicide that had been restricted in January. The initial ban came down from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which restricted use of the Enlist brand of herbicides in counties where the endangered American burying beetle is present. There was a fear it could harm the insect. But a coalition of farm groups from several states, led by the Missouri Department of Agriculture, pushed back. The EPA looked at additional data about the runoff levels of the herbicide if applied properly. The agency canceled the restriction last week. (Ahl, 4/4)

Mississippi lawmakers have approved a bill aimed at bolstering health care in rural Mississippi. The bill recently approved by both chambers of the state Legislature would permit the construction of “freestanding” emergency rooms in rural counties. The freestanding ERs would not have to be attached to hospitals. (4/2)

A series of violent encounters in New York’s subway system this year pushed the city’s new tough-on-crime mayor to take decisive action. Eric Adams sent NYPD officers into transit hubs and onto trains to force homeless people out. Now the mayor has a new target: Makeshift shelters built up by homeless people all over New York. He’s again sent city police officers in, this time to clear out those living in tents, under boxes or in other homes on the street. Officers have already broken down nearly 250 encampments and Adams is now launching another round sweeps. (Chadha and Eisenberg, 4/2)

If the U.S. Supreme Court decides in June, as expected, that all states can limit abortions to the earliest stages of pregnancy or ban the procedure altogether, hundreds of thousands of Americans are likely to start traveling to states where abortion remains legal. In preparation, lawmakers in those states are considering bills that would remove hurdles such as waiting periods and parental notifications, and some are proposing to help low-income patients by paying for travel and other practical expenses that add to the true cost of abortion care. (Vestal, 4/1)

KHN: Journalists Discuss How Legislation Affects Mental Health Care And Abortion Training 

KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney discussed how state abortion restrictions are limiting training options for medical students and residents who want to learn how to perform abortion procedures on Newsy’s “Evening Debrief” on March 30. ... KHN interim Southern bureau editor Andy Miller discussed a groundbreaking mental health bill on Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “Lawmakers” on March 28. (4/2)